In his first-ever interview, the sole Australian survivor of the Waco siege has revealed to 60 Minutes what really took place during the 51-day stand-off, and why he believes crazed cult leader David Koresh will one day return to Earth as the son of God.

How Donald Trump's presidency will have effects for decades to come

Donald Trump may only have a four-year stint in the Oval Office, but the impact of his presidency will last for decades in American law, thanks to a job that has sat vacant for months.

In February this year the far-right Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia died, leaving a vacancy on the nine-member bench and allowing Barack Obama to shift the court to the left for the first time in decades.

Since 1969, conservatives have held a majority on the Supreme Court, but with Scalia's death, the left was expected to take control for the first time.

But in an unprecedented move, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to appoint or even meet with Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland. They insisted on holding the vacancy open for the next president, in the hope a Republican would get elected.

With Clinton ahead in the polls for months, it seemed that hope would be in vain, but Trump's election will allow Republicans to name a conservative judge for the lifetime appointment.

The appointment will likely have ramifications well into the future because presidents like to name judges who will live for a long time. Rather than the crotchety judges we see in movies, Trump's nominee will likely be in their forties. And the Republican Senate majority will be all too happy to approve the nomination.

But Trump's influence on the court will likely extend past the Scalia seat. The libertarian moderate Anthony Kennedy is 80 years old, and will probably use a Republican presidency as an excuse to retire.

Related Articles

More concerning to Democrats is the liberal lion of the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The 83-year-old had been rumoured to be mulling retirement in the latter years of the Obama presidency, especially after a cancer diagnosis. As morbid as it is to think about, there's little guarantee that an 83-year-old cancer survivor will live to see another Democratic president.

So instead of the current 4-4 tie in the Supreme Court, conservatives will be going forward with a 6-3 majority, one that is likely more right-wing than its predecessors.

Democrats are deeply worried such a court will overturn the work done by progressives in the past few decades. Trump has pledged to name "pro-life" judges to the court, meaning abortion could be criminalised in coming years in America.

It's also entirely possible the gay marriage ruling could be overturned and thousands of marriages annulled as a result. And any hopes Democrats had of campaign finance reform are all but snuffed.

Among Trump's rumoured nominees is an appeals court judge who likened consensual sex between homosexuals to "polygamy, incest, paedophilia, prostitution and adultery". Much of the candidates on his list are decidedly anti-gay marriage.

So even if Trump isn't re-elected come 2020, his influence on American life may last for decades.